Just Another AI
by toothlessturtle21
Summary: In response to the sudden spike in highly advance AI, Ninjago's lawmakers make new guidelines for robot ownership and documentation. Unfortunately, this causes turmoil in the crew, as Zane fits these new laws rather well. Now the questions arise: How human is Zane, and how will he handle being treated as just another robot? (Alternate Angst Ending posted as chapter two!)
1. Chapter 1

H **ey y'all! this oneshot was heavily inspired by the story _Measure of a Man_ by StoriesAreMagic. I highly suggest you go check it out, since there's only two chapters and I'm already hooked. In case there's any confusion because of Zane's interactions with the Falcon, Zane can understand what the Falcon is saying, but no one else can. This oneshot takes place between Seasons 2 and 3. Enjoy!**

* * *

Usually, waiting for the news was not this tense. All five ninja plus Nya were huddled together on the couch and whatever chairs they could find, Zane in the middle of the ninja pit. He had tried a forced release of a serotonin-like substance to calm his nerves, but it hadn't really worked, leaving him a nervous mess. Cole was on his left side, massaging circles into Zane's arm in a futile attempt to calm the Nindroid down. Kai was on his right, not really helping much because he was highly worked up as well.

Jay was sitting in a chair by himself, playing with a homemade puzzle toy he had created a while back to help with nerves. Nya was sitting next to him in another chair, watching with fascination as Jay pulled and pushed on the gears and bars. Lloyd just sat with his eyes closed and head back in a chair opposite Jay and Nya, his fingers squeezing the armrests.

With all the advancement in technology, the lawmakers of Ninjago decided that new rules regarding technology ownership were to be created, and they were being unveiled that night in about ten minutes. It was no secret that the Ninja of Ice was a marvelous work of machinery, but Zane's history with the reporters and other influential individuals wasn't exactly the cleanest and most respectful thing, so the ninja had little hopes for the laws to accommodate a certain Ninja of Ice. Zane's name had been dragged through the dirt so many times, it was joked that him and Darreth should switch suits.

In the doorway, unknown to the others, were Dr. Julien and Sensei Wu, who didn't want to interrupt the little circle of support the ninja had and make them feel self-conscious. Sensei had accidently interrupted small moments of friendship many times, such as Jay and Cole laughing at stupid puns, or Zane and Kai sharing grievances and stories during family-oriented holidays, often accompanied by glasses of hot drinks and old relics from their childhoods. Wu would give anything to see them smile like that right now.

Dr. Julien was, as heart breaking as the thought was, there to hear firsthand any papers he would have to file to claim anything for Zane, but also to offer his son moral support in case something went horribly wrong.

When the reporters did start talking, everyone in and outside the room almost held their breath, hanging on to every word she said. She talked of small things like patents first, describing new protocols and paperwork. Then, she got into the heavier stuff.

"Any invention with an AI capable of human-like behaviors or decision making must have its programs and software approved by the Ninjago Association for Advancements in Robotics, as well as have legal ownership papers filed by the 31st of October, which include records of current owners, previous owners, any records of sale, value of any hardware, and copies of the original blueprints. We will return to this after a short-"

She was cut short by Jay muting the TV, face grim. The Lightning Ninja had set his toy down on the floor early on, so his hands were free to run over his face, as if he was exhausted. The room was deadly silent, commercials flashing in the background as everyone processed the news.

"Zane..." Nya looked to the Ninja of Ice, whose eyes hadn't moved from the screen. His blue eyes seemed more dull than usual, the TV screen reflecting over his pupils.

"You ok?" Cole asked gently, putting a hand on Zane's shoulder. The Nindroid looked at him and shook his head before standing up and walking out, bypassing both his father and Sensei on the way out.

"Zane!" His father called out, running after him the best he could. Zane stopped at the doorway to outside, the night air drifting slowly inwards.

"Why?" Zane asked, and turned back, knowing the others were out of earshot.

"I wish I could tell you that, Zane," The Doctor said with a sad expression, eyes crinkled with worry. "You deserve to know."

Zane motioned for his father to follow and continued outside, escaping the confines of the hallways.

"Realistically, Father, who _does_ own me?" Zane said almost calmly, but Julien could hear the pain behind each word.

"Zane, you aren't owned by-"

"Realistically," Zane looked at the Doctor with pleading eyes. Something told Julien this wasn't the first time these thoughts had gone through Zane's head.

"That... is a tough question to answer, son. Strictly legally, it would appear to be me, but I did die. Of course, I am here now, but that doesn't change the fact."

Zane glanced back inside, and Julien knew what he was thinking.

"Would it be..."

"Wu? I believe so, Zane."

The hurt on Zane's face upon realizing this made the Doctor embrace his son tightly.

"But don't you take this the wrong way. You are your own person, Zane. Some stupid law made by people who don't know what they're dealing with can't change that. You're not just an AI."

"We're talking about law for the moment, Father. We need to look at this from a legal point of view. For the moment, I'm just an AI and we need to-"

" _No."_

Zane had never heard his father speak with such force and emotion. It almost scared him.

"I did not spend years raising you and teaching you for you to call yourself an _it_ ," Julien gripped his son by the shoulders. "If you give in to them treating you like a pile of scrap metal, Zane, they win. And the last thing they deserve is for you to submit."

Zane's phone buzzed before he could respond.

 _From Jay:_

 _Hey, I know you're probably having a moment right now, but they released something else, I put it here in a direct quote. I didn't put the list in because you meet a lot of the requirements already._ _I'm sorry._

 _"All machinery that contains the following functions or hardware will need to be inspected personally by a certified inspector to ensure that it follows the guidelines for public safety."_

Zane read it out loud, but read it over in his head and analyzed it so many times that he had it committed to memory. He slipped his phone back into his pocket, and his father took his hands in his own. Nothing was said for a few minutes, Julien's thumbs rubbing circles into Zane's smooth skin.

"Zane," The Doctor said, looking up to meet Zane's gaze. "Your friends will offer you more support than I can. This is something you can't do alone."

Zane nodded, and planted a light kiss on his father's forehead before walking back inside. He braced himself for the team's reaction, and stepped inside the game room to find the TV turned off, the reporter presumably finished with her decrees.

They weren't even watching the door, all engrossed in their individual coping mechanisms.

"Hello," Zane said quietly, but every head snapped in his direction. A mixture of relief, anger, and sadness flooded everyone's faces, each with their own special balance.

"Are you ok?" Cole asked again, aware of the repetition. Once again, Zane shook his head, but this time he stayed.

"We're so sorry, Zane," Nya felt like she was going to cry. Zane walked over and sat down in his old spot, comforted by the body heat of Kai on one side and the sturdy body of Cole on the other. However, where he should have felt sadness, or maybe even the slightest comfort at the contact of his friends, he felt nothing, like his emotions had been injected with novocaine and were left sitting inside him, completely numb. He should have felt enraged, or at least angry, at his maltreatment, but felt hollow instead.

The Falcon swooped in, landing on his legs, feet cold from residing next to a chilly window. He chirped softly upon seeing Zane's emotionless eyes.

 _Hey, bud, you don't look too good. You wanna talk? There's a great patch of land where you would have an amazing view of the night sky just a few miles away, if you're up for a nice nature walk._

Zane shook his head, softly stroking the feathers that stuck up from the Falcon's back.

 _Uh, alright. I'll be in your room, fixing up my nest. See you in a bit, I guess._ He nuzzled Zane's hand as a comforting gesture before flapping off, twittering a last farewell. Zane dug out his phone, reading over Jay's text message to try and get angry, to spark some emotion inside of him.

Inspected. Certified. Guidelines. Safety.

Zane's pressure sensors sent out a warning that he was only a few dozen PSI away from cracking his phone, and he could feel the joints in his hand protesting against the effort. He slipped it back into his pocket to avoid damaging a rather expensive piece of technology, and simply decided that going to bed and refreshing his brain was the best option in this scenario.

He mumbled a quick goodnight, stood, and quickly exited the room, hearing muffled, defeated goodnights as he shut the door behind him. He entered his own room, the Falcon eyeing him carefully.

 _Alright, what's up? It's not even nine o' clock yet and you're going to bed._ He chirped, flying down from the perch Zane had built to hold his nest to Zane's outstretched hand, resting on a few fingers.

"You know those laws I mentioned a few days ago that were going to deal with the rise in advanced technology?"

 _How could I forget? You've been tense for weeks now over it. Are they really that bad?_ The Falcon clicked, his yellow eyes seemingly staring right into Zane's thoughts. The Nindroid suddenly felt exposed as his friend interrogated him.

"Yes, they are really that bad," Zane said, setting him down on the dresser so he could change. "Some of the paperwork involves past and present... owners."

 _Oh. I'm sorry, that's horrible._ The Falcon chirped, suddenly feeling like tearing certain people into pieces. _Anything else?_

"A complete analysis and price list of hardware used in construction, and a complete description of the software and copies of the blueprints. As well as past records of sale," Zane slipped a shirt over his head, not bothering to change out of his sweatpants.

 _Why can't they just leave you alone for once?_ The Falcon puffed out his feathers in annoyance, and Zane shrugged.

"I wish I knew."

 _You better get to bed then. You're still not sounding so hot._

Zane let out a small sigh. If there was somebody he could never fool, it was the Falcon. Trying to hide emotions, or lack thereof, from the Falcon was like trying to hide a steak from a lion. Always painfully obvious, not matter how far down you bury it.

"You're right. Goodnight, Falcon," Zane scratched his head, and the Falcon clicked, following him into his bed, nesting on a second pillow to Zane's left.

 _I'm gonna stay with you tonight, okay?_

"Just don't let me roll on top of you in my sleep," Zane grumbled, and drifted off soon after. The Falcon stayed awake, watching over his friend for any signs of nightmares, all the while worrying for Zane's wellbeing in the days to come.

* * *

Zane did not want to leave his bed in the morning. It was too early, too dark, and Zane knew what was ahead of him, and saw no reason to leave the comfort of his sheets and face the world. The Falcon was very convincing in his argument, however.

 _If you don't get up in the next five minutes I will personally grab a cup of scalding tea and dump it on your head._

Zane swatted at him benignly, sitting up. The Falcon, feeling a bit bad, promised Zane that he would stay with him the whole day, a rare occurrence, since he was often distracted by shiny things and pretty birds of all species. With a bit of motivation from his friend, he got out of bed, got dressed, and went to head down to the kitchen for breakfast.

He caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror, and his stomach sank. Dark circles were plastered under his eyes, his hair was thrown wildly around, and he seemed even more pale than normal. He was so stressed, if he was human and his hair wasn't already white, he thought he would be going gray.

Nevertheless, he trudged down to the kitchen, and was surprised to see two people already up, his father and his Sensei. He entered and sat down, and noticed they stopped their conversation, exchanging a look between them that Zane couldn't decipher.

"Please, don't hide information from me. The last thing I need right now is to be babied and lied to," Zane pleaded, pouring himself a cup of tea. They both nodded.

"You are right, Zane. My apologies," Sensei took a sip from his mug.

"Mine too, son. We just don't want you to work yourself up over this too much."

"It's too late for that," Zane commented, and the Falcon clucked at him from his perch on his shoulder.

 _Hey, remember what I said. Be positive._

Zane shrugged, sipping his tea, and neither elder questioned the interaction. Julien, although he had built both Zane and the Falcon to interact with each other, had no idea what the Falcon was saying. He had just learned to accept the seemingly one sided conversations.

"Zane, your father and I have been examining the regulations closely, and the ones we initially suspected would apply to you still do," Sensei said grimly, and Zane felt a flash of desperation inside of him.

"I feel so useless not knowing what to do. Usually I could provide an alternate method or a Plan B, but I don't really see a way out of this one," Zane stared down at his hands wrapped around his mug, desperation turning to anger.

"Zane, you are far from useless. This is simply a unique situation. Wu and I have decided that the best outcome for everyone right now would just be to comply," Dr. Julien said, hating how he could see Zane's shoulders tense.

" _Comply_. I believe I have been nothing but polite to these reporters and politicians. They've called me a monster, freak of nature, sub-human, drone, outdated scrap heap, and so much worse things, and what have I done? Brush off accusations, smiled at the crowds, and steered clear of fights, and this is how I'm treated in return?" Zane's pressure sensors were going off again with a warning that he was gripping the cup way too hard. "Well, I'm done. If I'm not wanted here, then so be it."

The mug shattered in his hand, the ceramic shards embedding themselves into his palm, but Zane was too angry to care. He stormed outside, and the Falcon squawked in protest.

 _Hey, what gives? Where are we going?_

"My home, my old village, anywhere as long as it's not here," Zane huffed, ignoring the sharp pains in his hand as wounds leaked small droplets of blood.

 _You can't just leave them, Zane. You know you can't._ The Falcon twittered as Zane kept running, the bird having to fly next to him to keep up.

"I'm not leaving them. At least not forever. I will come back when I see fit."

The Falcon hovered for a second, debating if his promise was worth keeping or not, but decided on no for Zane's sake and flew back, telling himself he'd apologize later. After what felt like days of running, Zane found himself at his old village, the people that were milling about surprised to see him.

"Zane, darling, what are you doing here?" One woman asked, running up to him.

"Just... clearing my head, I suppose. Thank you, Meredith," Zane nodded, smiling at her the best he could in his current emotional state.

"Zane, you're back? Are you staying awhile?" A man asked from his window, and Zane squinted against the sun.

"No, Nathaniel, I hope not. I suppose my life has been rather overwhelming, as of late."

"Oh yeah, we saw the news last night. I suppose we still don't really think of you as a robot now, after knowing you as just 'Zane' for so long," The man leaned on his windowsill. "Real sorry."

"Thank you," Zane nodded, and continued on, each townsperson greeting him with either a sympathetic smile or joy upon seeing him once again. Children that recognized him from either TV or his time in the village ran up and tugged on his sleeves, asking him a million questions about life as a ninja or how his iced powers worked, and soon enough, most of the children were throwing ,snowballs at each other in the crisp Autumn air.

He leaned back against the bench he was sitting on, the boards creaking slightly. A girl remained next to him, obviously nervous about playing with her peers, much more content sitting beside the Ninja of Ice.

"I remember you," She said softly, her face slightly scrunched with the effort of pulling up memories from a few years ago. "You just left one day."

"Yes, I suppose I did," Zane frowned. He had neglected to look at his leave from the perspective of the townsfolk, too focused on his change in lifestyle.

"Are you going to leave again?" She asked, eyes wide and staring at him.

"Yes, I will. I needed a place to think," He tried to be reassuring, but the thought of facing the workload at his home made him anxious.

"Oh," She cast her gaze downward. "Well, try to say hi to my mommy, ok? She was talking about you last night after the news."

"Sure thing," Zane nodded, and stood, waving a small goodbye to the child, right before got nailed in the face with a snowball.

The children gasped, and stared, almost afraid as Zane dusted the snow off his face, right before he launched an attack on the group, laughing along with them as they ganged up on him.

Once the snow had settled, Zane had snow all over him, caking his tee shirt and sweatpants. Just as he was kneeling to gather snow to make a snowman, he saw the shadow of a tall figure fall over him. Snow still in hand, he looked up, and met the striking blue eyes of a woman that could have been his mother, had he been human.

Curly bleach-blonde hair fell to her waist, and she had snow covering the side of her light gray jacket, indicating she'd been hit on her way over.

"Hello, Olivia. It's a pleasure to see you again," He stood, going in for a handshake, but she instead chose to hug the Nindroid, and Zane had to stop himself from collapsing into her arms. Honestly, she was the closest thing he had to a mother.

"I'm so sorry," She mumbled against his shirt. "You deserve more than this, honey."

Zane didn't know what to say, but the girl from earlier hid behind Olivia's skirt, and Zane made the connection easily.

"Here, come inside hon, I'll get you some warmer clothes," The woman tugged Zane's sleeve towards her house, and the Ice Ninja gladly followed.

Once inside, she handed him one of her husband's sweatshirts, and Zane took it gladly, slipping it on over his tee shirt. She sat down next to him on her couch after ushering her daughter back outside, sighing.

"Alright Zane, Lilly's outside and Mark's at work, so spill it. Why did you make the trek out here?"

"The truth is, Olivia, I don't know how much more I could've handled before I snapped out there," Zane said grimly, digging his hands inside of the pocket. "I'm just so done with being treated as beneath human."

"I've heard. God, they say such awful things about you. They've probably never even met you, 'cause you're just a marshmallow with sugar on top, aren'tcha?" She teased, and Zane rolled his eyes, but smiled a bit anyway. "All kidding aside, are you ok?"

"No, not really. I just finally snapped this morning. I was told that there's not much else to do than comply in this situation, to be objectified and inspected like a faulty toaster oven," He said, and Olivia slipped an arm behind his back, rubbing circles into it.

"That's horrible, but I've been thinking and I couldn't really think of anything else to do either. If Ninjago didn't know you were a robot, that's one thing, but _everyone_ knows, and that's just troubling," She sighed, and then both heard a tapping at the window. Zane looked over to see the Falcon knocking on the glass, and he stood and let the bird inside, closing the window after.

The Falcon settled down and his eyes went blue, indicating a message waiting to be delivered. Zane sighed, sat down, and let the Falcon play the message from the arm of the couch.

Kai appeared, his image flickering in and out of clarity.

 _Hey Zane. The Falcon seemed pretty upset, so I hope you're alright. Sensei and your dad said you needed to time to cool off, but come back to us soon, ok? We want to help you but we can't if you keep running away from us like this. We miss you, bye._

The message stopped. Zane stared at where the hologram used to be, hearing oddly sincere words come from Kai sparking some burst of emotion inside of him. Olivia, sensing this, wrapped her arms around the Nindroid and let him fall apart in her arms, whispering comforting things to him as he calmed down, eyes still watering.

"Zane," She said gently, stroking his hair. "As much as I love you, your team can help you more than I can."

"Would you believe that's the second time I've heard that in the past twenty-four hours?" He wiped at his face, sheepishly scrunching in on himself.

"Do you want a ride back to wherever you're supposed to go?" She asked, and Zane nodded.

"Alright, let's go. How far do you think it is?"

* * *

They arrived back about forty-five minutes later, and Zane hugged Olivia one last time before he left.

"Promise you'll come visit under less stressful circumstances?" She held onto him, and he nodded.

"Of course."

"Alright hon, see you later," She smiled, and drove off, leaving Zane unsure of how to approach the upcoming conversations. The Falcon swooped down, and landed on his shoulder.

 _Sorry for ditching you way back there. I figured they deserved some sort of lead. Your friends were worried sick when Kai sent me with the message._

Zane rubbed the back of his friend's neck affectionately, and worked up the courage to enter the door.

Once he did, he was enveloped in a massive bear hug by the entire crew, and he sighed in relief. At least they weren't angry at him.

"You can't just say stuff like that and leave, Zane!" Cole exclaimed once the hug broke.

"No kidding, you scared us all half to death!" Jay added, scolding him. Alright, maybe they were a little angry.

Before Zane could really formulate an appropriate response, he noticed Sensei and Dr. Julien hanging out in the back of the room. Sensei spoke up, and asked for a minute alone with the Ice Ninja, and everyone, even his father, reluctantly cleared out.

Zane had lost count how many times his nerves had stuck over the past few days, but this definitely added to the list.

"Zane, before you apologize for running out like I know you will, I am sorry as well."

"Why are you apologizing? You have done nothing wrong," Zane frowned, but Sensei shook his head.

"We have all neglected your feelings about the press. We knew they were saying horrible things about you, but allowed it to fester until you started to believe what they were saying yourself. Your father has told me about what you said last night to him, about you referring to yourself as just a robot," Sensei spread his left hand flat across Zane's chest, touching some of the seams of the panel. "You are far more than a sum of your parts, my student."

"I may know that, but they don't," He said sadly, and his teacher sighed.

"While that is true, that doesn't affect our options. We have decided that we can either follow the rules and dehumanize you more than you already feel Ninjago has, or we can simply ignore the regulations and see if they care."

Zane eyed his Sensei skeptically.

"You mean to say we... break the law?"

"That is precisely what I'm saying, Zane."

"We can't just forget this ever happened," Zane pursed his lips, shaking his head.

"After the things you said earlier, there's no way I can forget," Sensei met his gaze, and Zane suddenly felt guilty.

"My apologies, Sensei. I suppose I let my emotions get the best of me," The Ice Ninja sheepishly stared at the ground, clasping his hands behind his back.

"Enough, Zane. You do not need to apologize for your emotions."

 _Yeah, listen to him. You're the best freaking Nindroid ever._ The Falcon cawed, puffing out his chest. Zane smiled a little, smoothing down his friend's feathers, and thanking him.

"Now, let's go eat."

Zane hadn't realized how late it was.

"Alright, let's go eat."

* * *

Just as Sensei suspected, Ninjago had nothing to say when no forms were turned in from the ninja. Zane had slowly let his guard down, avoiding any officers or lawyers for a long time before realizing that no one was out to get him.

Even the reporters had nothing to say, focusing on uplifting stories of Ninjago's climb into the electronic age. Dr. Julien wished he could take back anything that was said during the first night, since all it had done was worsen the Nindroid's self-esteem issues.

As promised, Zane had visited Olivia again when they passed through, and they had a proper gossip session free of outside stress. He quickly became a village favorite, making snowmen and having snowball fights with the children and providing the teenagers and adults with insight into some of the things happening in the cities that they didn't hear about. The images in their minds of an amnesiac, socially inept teenager were quickly replaced by the confident yet still lovably quirky Zane they talked to when he stopped by.

The team was sure to smother Zane in love for a while, and slowly but surely, any confidence he had lost replaced itself with nothing but hugs and gaming sessions with his friends, and it seemed that the cheesy phrase that was often quoted to them stands true, at least in this situation. The attacks from the media definitely didn't kill him, but they sure made him stronger.


	2. Chapter 2

**Remember when I said this was a one shot? I lied. Whoops. This is the alternate ending, where the ninja don't break the law, and Zane has to go through the process of becoming safety-verified. Big thanks to StoriesAreMagic for inspiring this alternate ending and the whole story in general, and enjoy the more angsty ending to _Just An A_ _I_! **

* * *

Zane rubbed the back of his friend's neck affectionately, and worked up the courage to enter the door.

Once he did, he was enveloped in a massive bear hug by the entire crew, and he sighed in relief. At least they weren't angry at him.

"You can't just say stuff like that and leave, Zane!" Cole exclaimed once the hug broke.

"No kidding, you scared us all half to death!" Jay added, scolding him. Alright, maybe they were a little angry.

Before Zane could really formulate an appropriate response, he noticed Sensei and Dr. Julien hanging out in the back of the room. Sensei spoke up, and asked for a minute alone with the Ice Ninja, and everyone, even his father, reluctantly cleared out.

Zane had lost count how many times his nerves had stuck over the past few days, but this definitely added to the list.

"Zane, before you apologize for running out like I know you will, I am sorry as well."

"Why are you apologizing? You have done nothing wrong," Zane frowned, but Sensei shook his head.

"We have all neglected your feelings about the press. We knew they were saying horrible things about you, but allowed it to fester until you started to believe what they were saying yourself. Your father has told me about what you said last night to him, about you referring to yourself as just a robot," Sensei spread his left hand flat across Zane's chest, touching some of the seams of the panel. "You are far more than a sum of your parts, my student."

"I may know that, but they don't," He said sadly, and his teacher sighed.

"Unfortunately so."

Both teacher and student stood in silence, Zane fiddling with the hoodie strings of his accidently stolen sweatshirt.

"Do you want to wait a few days, Zane? We have a small amount of time to spare before the forms are due," Sensei rested a hand on his shoulder, and was unsurprised when Zane shook his head.

"I want to get this over with," The Ice Ninja decided, heading towards the door where his father had exited.

They found Julien holding a small stack of papers in Zane's room, the Falcon swooping from his Nindroid perch to his nest, which wasn't much more than a pile of scrap fabric and stray leaves.

Zane settled wordlessly on his bed, shoulder to shoulder with his father, who wrapped an arm around his son's side, his other hand holding papers.

"Ready, son?" He asked, and Zane gave a small nod, taking a small stack of papers from his father and glancing over the prompts.

"We might be here a while," Zane smiled dryly, and Sensei and Julien each pulled up a chair on either side of Zane's desk chair, the Ice Ninja's blueprints spread out over the top of the table.

An hour later, now making it early afternoon, Jay had made an appearance, and was sitting with Zane on his bed, working with him on some of the documents. The Lightning Ninja had learned to check over anything Zane filled out, since he had a habit of leaving spaces blank in a futile attempt to convince himself that certain categories didn't exist.

Julien was, with a long extension cord travelling from Zane's wrist to Jay's laptop, uploading the outlines of Zane's software to a document, which the Ice Ninja had refused to look at so far. Sensei had left to make everyone some tea to calm their nerves, so the three worked in relative silence until Zane broke the still air.

"I... I just remembered the information I learned after the fact from Jay's text. I have to-" Zane paused as he pulled up the message on his phone. "Be inspected by a certified..."

He trailed off, shutting his phone off and shoving it back into his pocket.

"Zane, we can't worry about that right now. You're already too worked up," Jay rested a hand on the Ice Ninja's forearm, and Zane nodded, swallowing hard.

"If you insist."

A few hours later, Zane had fallen asleep, his head resting in the Lightning Ninja's lap. Jay was softly petting his head absentmindedly as he, Sensei, and the doctor discussed issues in hushed tones, as not to wake him.

"He left all of the ownership spaces blank! Shouldn't that tell you something?" Jay hissed, and the doctor sighed.

"I know, but he deserves to be here for this."

"His mental health comes before anything else," Sensei declared, wearily eyeing the cable sticking out of Zane's wrist. "I say that we let him sleep, and move to Jay's room to continue filling out the paperwork."

"I just don't want him left in the dark like this. If he wants to know, he can and he deserves to," Julien attempted, but the other two shook their heads.

"It's not worth it. It's bad enough knowing some random person gets to pick him apart without all of the added stress of paperwork. This is all so stupid," Jay ran a hand down his face, rubbing his eyes. "If he can't even bring himself to write down both of your names under previous and present owners, I think we need to let him be. His software's almost done downloading, right?"

Julien checked the screen, and nodded.

"Then we will leave him here to rest," Sensei confirmed, and Julien sighed in defeat.

"Very well. I hope he feels better tomorrow."

* * *

Zane awoke at three in the morning to a quiet house. The papers and computer, along with the people working on them, were gone. He heard a fluttering, and the Falcon swooped down from his nest to rest on his shoulder.

 _They left after you fell asleep. Jay and Wu thought you didn't have to be there for the nitty-gritty stuff, but your dad argued against them. He lost._ The Falcon nuzzled Zane's cheek affectionately, and Zane scratched his head in return.

"Should we enjoy a few hours of peace outside?"

 _Sounds great._

The two sat just outside the academy, Zane holding a warm cup of tea, and the Falcon resting on his head, nestled in his hair. The darkness allowed Zane to admire the stars, which he did gladly. He drew the constellations in his head, distracted from the world, even if only for an hour or two. The sun began to rise after a while, painting the sky with hues of pink and gold. Zane made no move to stand up, only huddling in his sweatshirt more, the wind chilling his fingers. He rested his head against a tree, and relaxed, the Falcon fluttering down to his shoulder.

Zane's clock told him it was now five thirty, so he reluctantly stood to make the crew some breakfast. He had finished whisking the batter for a rather large batch of pancakes and was starting to cook the second round when the first resident arrived.

To Zane's surprise, it was Cole, who walked up to stand on Zane's left.

"Morning, Zane. Enjoying some peace and quiet?" The Earth Ninja asked, and Zane nodded, the Falcon fluttering down to the windowsill, which had a few fake plants on it, since nobody could keep a real one alive for the life of them. "Whatcha making?"

"Pancakes with raspberry syrup."

Both of them knew they were dodging the issue at hand, and Zane could see that Cole desperately wanted to ask about it, but didn't say anything just in case it would get Zane worked up again. Zane didn't say anything because it was the last thing he wanted to think about. The Falcon darted out the window at this moment, distracted by something outside. Cole acted like it hadn't startled him.

"Nice, nice. Want any help?"

"If you wish, you could prepare a fruit salad. I believe we have an abundance of berries," Zane tilted his head towards the fridge, and the Earth Ninja happily started to slice strawberries in a comfortable silence. That is, until Kai walked in a few minutes later.

"Hey guys, what's cooking?" He leaned on the counter, peering across Zane to the burner.

"Pancakes."

"Sweet," The Fire Ninja whistled on his way to the table, where he set out some cups for the residents, and then went to fill a pitcher of ice water.

"So," He said absentmindedly while he was waiting. "How'd last night go?"

Cole cringed, and looked over at Zane, who hesitated.

"It was... interesting," He said, although he was clearly holding back some choice words.

"Really? That's a relief. I was expecting something worse," Kai shrugged, setting the full pitcher down on the table. Zane didn't respond, instead staring intently at his pancakes on the stove.

"Zane? If you have a minute," A new voice called from the doorway. Jay stood awkwardly, tired and sick of paperwork. Zane left the pancakes in Kai's hands (hopefully he wouldn't add any Sriracha), and followed Jay down the hallway. He stepped in the Lightning Ninja's room, where there were papers stacked neatly on his desk.

"It's just me. Sensei and your dad are outside," Jay scratched the back of his neck and sat down on the foot of the bed. "You wanna sit?"

Zane nodded and sat next to him, and Jay sighed.

"I heard Kai on my way down. I guess he hasn't quite gotten the memo," The Lightning Ninja chuckled, but Zane didn't even crack a smile. "Ah, anyway, we wanted to confirm some stuff with you, but we didn't want to wake you up last night."

"May I see the material in question?"

"Um, it's not a form. At least, not yet. We were wondering which date would you prefer for..." Jay trailed off, hoping Zane would get the hint and he wouldn't have to say it, but Zane just stared expectantly. Jay cleared his throat. "The... inspection date?"

Zane was taken aback for a second, but recovered his composure quickly. "What are my options?"

"It looks like the best days are tomorrow, or a week from today," The Lightning Ninja explained, and Zane thought for a moment.

"Tomorrow, please."

"Can do. I'll go tell the Doc and Sensei," Jay excused himself quickly, obviously searching for an escape from the awkward situation. He found the two standing outside the school with the Falcon perched on the doctor's shoulder, the bird clutching a shiny coin in his beak.

"Good morning, Jay," Julien greeted, and he gave a short wave.

"Hey, I just talked to Frosty. He said tomorrow. The thing is, I don't know how we're going to do this. We have to power him down, right?"

"Yes, I would definitely assume so," Julien nodded, and Sensei agreed with a nod of his own.

"Right. So we're asking Zane to give a stranger complete access to his body? That's so messed up," The Lightning Ninja felt faint electricity at his fingertips, and Sensei sighed.

"We are not asking him to. They are," He looked towards the rest of the world, and Jay gulped.

"Still, it's wrong."

"Agreed, it is wrong. But we have to stay positive. For Zane's sake," Julien glanced back towards the school. "After all he said earlier, I would hate for this to be the straw that broke the camel's back."

"More like a cinder block," Jay mumbled, and Sensei shook his head.

"Positivity, my student."

"Alright, alright. I'm headed back inside. Pancake breakfast, as I've heard," Jay smiled, and walked back through the door, greeted by the warm smell of raspberries from the kitchen. When he got there, Zane hadn't yet reappeared in the kitchen, so Kai was still on pancake duty. He had made a large amount all piled up on a plate, and all three Garmadons as well as Nya had come to join the party.

"Breakfast is served," Kai proclaimed, laying down a platter stacked high with pancakes, as well as a few bottles of flavored syrup. "Eat up, there's a lot to go around."

The crew ate in anything but silence, laughter and jokes being thrown around as the gang demolished the plate of pancakes and the fruit salad along with it. Sensei and Julien joined shortly after, worried by Zane's absence, but they ate anyway, hoping it was nothing major. Cole stuffed the last one in his mouth with a happy sigh.

"Man, these were good," Lloyd smiled, taking a drink from his glass of orange juice.

"No kidding," Nya leaned back in her seat, satisfied. "Nice job, Kai."

"I didn't make the batter. I just cooked them," The Fire Ninja shrugged. "Zane made the... where is Zane anyway?"

The crew fell silent.

"I'll go check on him," Julien volunteered to ease the table's nerves, and stood, going to check Zane's room first. And that's where he found the Nindroid, curled up in his bed, but not asleep.

"Zane," Julien said calmly, closing the door. "Are you alright?"

Zane looked up at him, blue eyes glassy. "I don't know. Physically, yes. But mentally, I am not sure."

His father sat down next to him, resting a hand on Zane's shoulder through the blankets. "You are upset. Whether you want to admit it or not, you are not alright."

The Ice Ninja didn't respond, pressing himself further into his bed, the warm pocket he had created providing comfort to some degree.

"Zane, it's perfectly fine to not be fine," Julien reassured. "You are allowed to hurt. As your father-"

"But you are not my father, are you?," His voice cracked with emotion. "Machines cannot have parents. Only creators. Owners-" Zane cut himself off with a sob he didn't know he had been holding in, wiping his eyes.

"Oh Zane," Julien crawled under the covers with him, and hugged him close as he cried, burying his face into his father's chest.

* * *

Right before they were set to go in for the inspection, Zane sat curled up with his arms hugged around the lower portion of his chest panel, where the switch to shut him down was. The mere thought of someone digging around in his insides made him nauseous, so he tried not to think about it as Julien talked with the man at the desk about their appointment. A part of him was glad that he would be powered off, because he wouldn't remember anything. He would wake back up in his father's arms and everything would be ok again.

Another part of him knew that was a lie. He would feel where the unfamiliar fingers had been, where wires had been shifted to make a path for cameras and lights, where buttons had been pressed, where his skin had been stretched.

The sickness came back and he pressed his hands to his neck, cooling his fingers to act as an ice pack. What if they deemed him unsafe? Would he ever wake up again, or would he be through a trash compactor before he even gained consciousness again? What if he was stripped of his memories and forced to work as a slave for the higher ups who had dreamed up this whole inspection routine? What if-

"Alright Zane, are you ready?" His father stood over the chair where he was seated, his mouth pressed into an unreadable thin line.

"I am ready," Zane said shakily, swallowing hard. Dr. Julien eased open his chest panel, fingers hovering over the switch. He hesitated. "Father?"

"Yes, Zane?"

"I love you."

"I love you too, son."

A soft kiss was planted on Zane's forehead before the world went black.

* * *

Zane woke up at the academy, tucked into his bed with no one else with him. As soon as he was awake enough to think properly, he could tell that everything was just _off_. He shifted uncomfortably in his bed, sitting up. He glanced at his clock, and found it was around four in the afternoon. That took longer than he thought, unless he slept for the majority of the day. That would make it ten hours since his inspection.

Zane got out of bed, the Falcon waking up and perching on his shoulder, before heading to the kitchen to make himself a snack. He walked in, not bothering to look around before grabbing a handful of dried fruit and a granola bar.

"Zane, you doing ok?" A voice sounded from behind him. Nya.

"I could be worse," Zane took a bite of his granola bar, turning to face her.

"Yeah, you don't look too good," She commented rather bluntly, and Zane nodded.

"Stress does wonders for your appearance."

"Was that sarcasm I heard?" Nya teased, and Zane shrugged.

"Perhaps," He swallowed. "I suppose the worst is over now, however. The paperwork is filled out, and this whole horrific process is over with. It was just a lot to take in."

"I hear ya," She smiled sympathetically. "People suck sometimes."

Zane nodded grimly.

"Like you said, the worst is over. So, come relax with us. I'm sure everyone would be thrilled to see you," She offered, and Zane smiled.

"How can I say no to that?"

Zane later found himself in the middle of a ninja pile, arms and legs all entangled as the crew watched their favorite shows, popcorn in their hands, and Zane wouldn't have it any other way.


End file.
